Final ACTA Text Released

The United States Trade Representative has released the final text of the Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement [pdf], though it is still “subject to legal review.” This text, dated 15 November, is the agreed finalised version, according to a USTR press release.

Following a “legal verification of the drafting” the text will go to national governments so they can “undertake relevant domestic processes,” the press release says.

The final text reflects a proposed United States/European Union package solution on a few remaining areas of disagreement that was leaked last week (IPW, IP Burble, 9 November 2010). Also in last week’s leaks is the scheduled meeting for legal review, to take place 30 November to 3 (or “if necessary 4″) December in Sydney, Australia.

The Foundation for a Free Information Infrastructure has prepared a side-by-side comparison of the new text with the last text from Tokyo, link here.

The American University law school Program on Information Justice and Intellectual Property in Washington, DC issued an analysis yesterday raising questions over the constitutionality in the United States of the ACTA agreement as it involves commerce and trade, which are the purview of Congress.